Ready to Adopt a New Attitude About Food Restrictions?

A critical component for weight loss success is the mental preparation needed to adopt a new approach to eating to ensure you are fully committed to the menu plan. A major mental block to losing weight is wanting to lose weight too fast. Truth is weight loss is too slow for most dieters to get onboard. If it took you years to gain the weight, it will take more than a week to shed the unwanted pounds.

Unfortunately, if you become obsessed with negative thoughts, you may create a self-fulfilling prophecy that immediately sets the stage for weight loss failure. Although you cannot change the past, attitude is often more important than facts. You have a choice every day regarding your attitude and that should dictate your actions.

• Tell Yourself You Can - Research studies suggest that dieting alone does not work well for long-term weight loss as the body has a natural tendency to maintain body weight to prevent starvation when food is scarce.
• Learn More About Weight Gain - If you don't like exercising and have never learned how to apply fitness programs, seek the advice of a professional that can set up a program for your unique needs.
• Focus on Long-Term Eating Habits - Seeing yourself as if you have already achieved your goal is incredibly powerful and helps replenish your willpower. So, set your goal and picture your achieving it.
• Talk to Friends and Family - A 2012 Study published in the journal Obesity concluded that being surrounded by others with a similar weight loss goals can boost everyone's weight loss efforts.
• Develop Mental Toughness - Honing in on your motivation means avoiding situations as well as the people who shame or sabotage your efforts. The best place to start is by letting go of any guilt that you associate with eating.

The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States is over $150 billion annually and obesity-related health conditions include some of the leading causes of preventable or premature death. Trying to lose more than a couple pounds each week is simply not sustainable without extreme calorie reduction. Unfortunately, while maintaining a calorie-restricted diet, your metabolism is apt to reset to a lower level.

When a food craving strikes, distract yourself by taking a walk, wash the dog, cut the grass or take a deep breath and meditate. Purposefully using distractions can help you focus when hunger pangs strike. It is important for you to find ways of replacing feelings of sadness, emptiness, loneliness, boredom or anger with nutrient-packed foods that support becoming whole and healthy.